Andrews Tribune by Andrews Senior Care

Comrade David Blacquiere, Royal Canadian Legion 1 shakes hands with Andrews of Charlottetown resident Ewan Stewart ahead of Charlottetown’s Remembrance Day service. More photos inside.

UPDATE FROM ANDREWS

Dear family members and friends of Andrews Senior Care,

November was a great month at our homes. We honoured our veterans during our Remembrance Day services, enjoyed live music, special meals, took part in an ornament exchange where residents made ornaments to be swapped with other Andrews homes and had our Christmas card photos done.

This month we will be celebrating Christmas all month long Our Summerside home kicks off the season tonight with the official tree lighting of the Light Up Our Lives event We will also host Christmas teas, holiday parties, enjoys lots of carolers and visits from local daycares and schools It’s going to be a funfilled month.

We hope you all have a beautiful holiday season and we wish you all the best in the new year.

Sincerely,

Andrews Senior Care

Team member Laura MacArthur, an LPN, and resident Anna Doucette share a laugh while walking to lunch at Andrews of Summerside

C H R I S T M A S C R A F T S

Residents at all our Island homes took part in a Christmas decoration swap. Each home made some ornaments to be shared with another Andrews home.

has been working on the Light Up Our Lives project for nearly a year and is excited to see if finally come to fruition this month.

Christmas at home

Andrews of Summerside hosts first ever Light Up Our Lives event

Residents at Andrews of Summerside are getting an early Christmas gift this year as the home hosts the first ever Light Up Our Lives Christmas event and fundraiser.

Initiated by Andrews of Summerside activity director

Annelize Malan, the event will see community businesses and organizations donate decorated Christmas trees to be displayed along the driveway of the home throughout the Christmas season The public is encouraged to visit, with Andrews of Summerside accepting non-perishable food donations to the food bank

“This is an awesome way to bring the Christmas spirit to our residents,” Annelize said “There are so many people that can’t go out to have the opportunity to go look at the lights ”

The project has been almost a year in the works and involved a lot of phone calls and planning

“It’s been a lot of hours,” said Annelize “Making banners, making invitations, talking to people over the phone ”

Annelize stressed that this is a community project, not just an Andrews of Summerside project

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Jeanette Gallant and Bill Martin, owner of the Water Street Bakery, pose with their donated tree outside Andrews of Summerside.

Annelize Malan

“I wanted to have community commitment and community participation,” she said “Community involvement is important because it gets people to talk to one another. By bringing in the community, we have the mayor, the minister, people from Sobeys, come in and have a chat with the residents. They get the opportunity to just speak to other people and see other faces that they don’t see every day.”

For resident Adele Gardiner, who was instrumental in starting the Lights for Life at the Prince County Hospital, having a similar event at her residence means a lot.

“It takes me back to when I was doing it at the hospital,” she said. “We had a lot of cold fingers.” She added, the effort was worth it when she was with the hospital and it’s worth it today at Andrews of Summerside.

“It keeps the community together,” she said.

Trees were donated between November 23 and November 29 The official lighting is scheduled for Monday, Dec 2 at 6 p m The trees will remain up and lit until January 5

Local businesses and community organizations gathered at Andrews of Summerside on Saturday, Nov. 23 to erect their donated trees. The official lighting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.

Making a connection

Men’s groups aim to get male residents socializing more

Men living at Andrews Senior Care homes have a new outlet for socializing – a monthly men ’ s group

The idea for the group was initiated by Andrews of Stratford activity director Sharon Woods-Bryenton, who saw a need for more social opportunities for the men at her home.

“The population is heavily female at senior’s homes,” she said “We always have a good turnout of men at our activities but I thought it would be nice to have a time just for them to get together and talk about sort of men ’ s stuff.”

According to research, including a 2018 study published by the National Institutes of Health, male seniors are at a particularly high risk of experiencing loneliness and are often less likely to engage socially than women

“Some of them were living alone (before moving to Andrews) and this is a way for them to connect and make friends,” she said. “If you go into a Tim Hortons or a McDonald’s early in the morning, you’ll often see a group of men, five to six, sitting around and there’s this comradery and I thought that would be nice to start for our men at Andrews of Stratford ”

The group, led by Nathan Rochford, content manager and Andrews’ story-teller, started in January 2023. The first meeting had about four residents but now averages more than 12 participants. Each meeting residents are encouraged to talk about their lives, their careers, their families while enjoying coffee, tea and a sweet treat. Often, the group will try a board game or cards, something simple that they can play while carrying on a conversation

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Nathan Rochford, Andrews Senior Care’s storyteller and content manager, plays cards with a group of men at Andrews of Stratford.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Nathan “I love hearing their stories They’ve led such interesting lives We have guys who grew up during the Blitz in London, former farmers and teachers One guy ’ s father was an old-school cowboy in the mid-west in the 1920s. It’s amazing what you can learn just chatting.”

Michael Morrison, whose parents Ivan and Anita live at Andrews of Stratford, is a regular at the men ’ s group.

“I always call it the meeting of the generations because I’m so young and I get to hear what life was like for a lot of these residents,” he said “It’s a living history lesson for me ”

The response from the residents has been positive as well.

If you go into a Tim Hortons or a McDonald’s early in the morning, you’ll often see a group of men, five to six, sitting around and there’s this comradery and I thought that would be nice to start for our men at Andrews of Stratford.”

“We had a few men move in recently and when I tell them there’s one morning that’s just for the men ’ s club their eyes light up, ” said Sharon.

She added, some residents would like to see the men ’ s group expand.

“I have some that ask for it more than once a month, so that might be something we look at doing eventually,” she said. “I think it could grow, too. I think it could grow to some outings together, maybe some sporting events, movies, we could go fishing. I think whatever we find that they have in common or would enjoy doing, I think we could grow the program for sure. ”

Currently, there are men ’ s groups at all five Andrews Senior Care homes Charlottetown, Park West and Stratford are led by Nathan and meet monthly, while Summerside hosts a regular men ’ s breakfast

Andrews of Summerside residents take part in the men’s breakfast club, a regular event aimed at getting more male residents socializing with each other.

‘It

makes me relaxed’

Andrews resident has been doing embroidery for over 75 years

Gonda Visser has been doing embroidery art since she was six years old and at age 84, she’s showing no signs of slowing down

“I makes me relaxed,” said Gonda, a resident of Andrews of Stratford. “If I have a very busy day, then I always, through my whole life, in the evening I would take (a project) and work on it. It’s wonderful to do that.”

She learned the craft in grade school in her home country of the Netherland and was infatuated it from day one.

As most people who do knitting, crocheting or other kinds of needlework art, she started with the basics. But, over the years her skills improved and she decided to devote more time to the craft. She went on to study the art in school in Rotterdam and has attended seminars around the world

“I love them,” she said of the seminars “So fantastic All likeminded people ”

Today, Gonda specializes in needle painting, an advanced form of embroidery that mimics the brushwork of oil painting, adding shade and volume to the work An average piece done in this style takes Gonda approximately three weeks to complete

Gonda is a member of the Needlework Guild of Canada

ABOVE & BEYOND

November 2024

Every month our team and residents recognize one team member for showing exceptional care

Our Above and Beyond winner for November is Joscel Tanaquin

Joscel is a dedicated team member, always willing to go the extra mile for our residents and her fellow staff We are lucky to have her at Andrews of Parkhill Joscel currently works as our care supervisor Congratulations, Jocsel!

Our Above and Beyond winner for November is

Melissa Butler

Melissa is a dedicated team member, beloved by staff and residents alike. She embodies the saying “there’s no I in team.” We are fortunate to have her at Andrews of Summerside

Melissa started working at our home as an RN supervisor in 2018 and quickly became an integral member our team.

Congratulations, Melissa!

Our Above and Beyond winner for November is Heather Campbell

Heather is a dedicated team member who adores our residents She works hard to make sure their days are full of fun and excitement

Heather started working as our Andrews of Charlottetown activity director in 2022 Prior to joining our team, she worked as a support counselor with the Alzheimer’s Society

For her, the most rewarding part of her role at Andrews is the relationships she’s formed with residents “Getting to know the residents and getting to be a part of their lives, that’s the biggest one for me, ” she said Outside of work, Heather enjoys crocheting and playing music, especially on her flute Heather is also a member of the P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra.

Our Above and Beyond winner this month is Alex Rowell

Alex is a kind, creative and efficient team member who goes the extra mile for our residents every day We are lucky to have her at Andrews of Stratford Alex started working with us as a caregiver in 2018. Prior to joining our team, she had no healthcare experience However, she adapted quickly to senior care and after about a year she was promoted to shift supervisor, a role she remains in today.

For Alex, the most rewarding aspect of her job is helping the residents “I like being able to comfort them when they’re not feeling well,” she said Outside of work, Alex enjoys spending time with family She’s also currently upgrading courses with the goal of studying to become an RN

Our Above and Beyond winner for November is Muskan Muskan

Muskan is hard working, compassionate and dedicated to caring for our residents We are proud to have her as part of our Park West team

Muska started working with us as a caregiver in June 2024 Prior to joining out team, she studied human resources at Holland College and volunteered at senior care homes in her home country of India

For Muskan, seeing the positive impact she can have on a resident’s day is the most rewarding part of her role

“Since I was in India I volunteered in senior care, ” she said. “At Andrews, everyone is caring. The residents are very nice.” When she’s not at work, Muskan enjoys going for walks in her neighbourhood and listening to music

Parkhill

Summerside

Charlottetown

Stratford

Park West

Sudoku

The object of the puzzle is to fill the remaining squares, using all the numbers 1–9 exactly once in each row, column, and the nine 3 × 3 subgrids

Community Cash 50/50

Weekly 50/50 draw in support of support not for profit groups including Murphy s Pharmacies Community Centre and the Holland College Athletics Department Anyone can play for just $2/week